Volunteers Repair Disabled Veteran’s Home

Mechanicsville, VA—A disabled
veteran no longer has trouble maneuvering around his home, thanks to the help
of his favorite home improvement store and some area volunteers.

Steven Gulliford served in the Army for eight years as a
tank operator. The temperature would rise as high as 100 degrees as he worked,
and Gulliford's health suffered as a result.

“I developed high blood pressure,
hypertension and that lead to me having a stroke,” he says.

He is now a disabled veteran, and his
condition did not make it easy for him to complete projects around his home, as
his wife Karen explains.

“Sometimes it's hard for him to put
things away and he can't do a lot of bending over.”

The Home Depot store where Gulliford is a
regular customer came to his aid. Mechanicsville Home Depot Store Manager
Jessica Toney says her group of volunteers was happy to help. She rattles off a
list of the projects the group worked on at Gulliford's home.

“We're putting in pavers and tearing up
sod so he's able to actually get into his garden bed. We're redoing his ramp. We're
putting in also a work station in his garage. We're building him a shed as
well.”

The work is being paid for by a grant
though the Home Depot Foundation; it helps veterans with their home improvement
projects.

For Gulliford and his family, wood, nails
and generous volunteers are helping to change their lives.

He says, “The relationship that we've gained has been really
good, just knowing that they've got our back.”